With his profile as one of the most famous football personalities in the world, not too much of Sir Alex Ferguson's story has remained uncovered but it is still possible for Manchester United's manager to spring a surprise. There are trophies, players and managers synonymous with Ferguson's glittering career but before yesterday few would have mentioned the Battalion Cup or Johnny Boreland when reflecting on the key influences in the Glaswegian's life.

All that has changed, however, after Ferguson, who leads his second-placed team side into one of their biggest matches of the season on Sunday when they travel to Liverpool in the Premiership, revealed that Boreland, a youth leader within the 129 Glasgow Company of the Boys' Brigade, provided him with the encouragement and inspiration to achieve such unprecedented footballing success.

Ferguson was in the Boys Brigade from nine through to 16 but it was at the age of 12, under the tutelage of Boreland, that he joined the football team, taking a decision that would alter the course of his life.

Boreland was the football coach and as Ferguson reflected on those early days during an interview with Life And Work, the Church of Scotland magazine, it emerged that time has done nothing to erase the significance of his upbringing. That was the message the Scot was keen to accentuate as he recalled Boreland's part in his football introduction and the enthusiasm he instilled in a man whose own passion for the game remains a source of amazement to many.

"Johnny was an absolute fanatic for the game," claimed Ferguson, who had made his first-team debut for Queen's Park, an amateur team, when his time with the Boys Brigade drew to a close at the age of 16. "When we went to camp in places like Stonehaven we were given a list of everything we had to bring with us, and at the bottom in big capital letters, he'd put 'and football boots'.As soon as we arrived, it would be 'right, everybody, get your football boots on'."

The Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and Carling Cup feature on Ferguson's fixture list these days but for all his triumphs in those four competitions he has not forgotten the silverware that occupied his mind as a teenager in Govan. "Johnny gave us a leg-up and developed this great enthusiasm in us all," he said. "We won the Battalion Cup in a two-leg final in 1950. I still keep in touch with Johnny. He's a marvellous man, absolutely marvellous."

Ferguson, who will be 66 on New Year's Eve as he bids to mark his 22nd season at Old Trafford with a 10th league title, remains convinced that the time he spent with Boreland and the other staff at the Boys Brigade, left an indelible mark, helping install qualities that have remained with him throughout. "That spell from nine to 16 was a very important part of my life," he added. "It gave us discipline and confidence, and trust in the relationships we developed with the officers."

The United manager has often paid tribute to his roots, particularly the role his parents played in emphasising the importance of education. Govan, industrial and working-class, was a tough area to grow up in but Ferguson, whose father and brother worked in the Fairfield Shipyard, has warm memories of the town and his home. "It was a place where you could leave your door open," he added, "and people would come in, borrow something they needed and leave a note."

While Ferguson will spend today and tomorrow plotting for Sunday's Anfield encounter he will have been encouraged yesterday by Gary Neville's verdict that he will soon be playing again.

The full-back broke his ankle in March, but said: "It's been frustrating these last few months but hopefully now I can train, maybe next week, with the first team and get back to playing in the next few weeks. Hopefully I'm over everything now and I can get back playing."